NEWS: Rafaelli GIORDANO [Ralph JORDAN] Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, 1918, Bedford County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja and Donna Thomas

Copyright 2005.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/bedford/
_______________________________________________

SECOND DEGREE IS GIORDANO VERDICT
Woodvale Furnishes Bedford County With Fourth Murder in a Few Years

Special to the Tribune.
  Bedford, Sept. 9. - After a three days trial the jury in the case of the 
Commonwealth vs. Raffaelli Giordano, charged with the death of Guy Insalaca 
at Woodvale, Broad Top township, on January 2, rendered an unanimous verdict 
about 10 o'clock Saturday night, finding the defendant guilty of murder in 
the second degree.  The jury retired about 5 o'clock Saturday afternoon and 
at 9 o'clock summoned Judge Woods for instruction.  Within the hour they 
returned a verdict.  Wm. Wallace Chisolm and E. M. Pennell attorneys for the 
defendant immediateil (sic) asked and were granted permission to file motions 
for a new trial and to assign reasons therefore within thirty days after 
notes of testimony have been transcribed.
  On the night of January 2, Guy Insalaca, an Italian, was shot and instantly 
killed while walking along the street in Woodvale with two brothers, who the 
following day made information against Giordano.  A quarrel over money 
sometime previous, is thought to be the cause.  The latter was discovered in 
hiding by Privates Schell and Murphy of the State Police, brought to Bedford, 
and after a hearing before Justice J. R. Blymyer, was placed in jail without 
bail, to await trial.
  The small village of Woodvale, which is in the coal region of Broad Top, 
had furnished Bedford county with four murder trials within the past three or 
four years, the first one compelling a resurvey of the line and giving the 
case to this county, although previous to that time Huntingdon county had 
collected the taxes and considered the village as their property.
  The prisoner, whose name in English is Ralph Jordan, is about 30 years of 
age, has a wife and small child.  The murdered man left a widow and several 
small children.  The sentence will not likely be pronounced for several 
weeks.

Altoona Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 1918, page 5